Interview with Elizabeth Castro: Working as an Activities Specialist at a Local Municipal Recreation Center

Image courtesy Elizabeth Castro

S: Hey Elizabeth! Take us through a typical day in your world, what is your routine before you get to work?

E: I’m an early riser, but I was never traditionally someone who was considered a quote-on-quote morning person, I still don’t. But I’ve found waking up early allows me to embrace the day on the most positive note I can. It’s my quiet time to tune into my heart center and start my morning rituals which include a nice warm cup of coffee, greeting my cats for the day, and being able to be mindful by petting them. Sometimes it includes meditation, reading books, or taking warm baths first thing in the morning. Once I go to work I have to hit the ground running.

S: I love that. I love the idea of taking a warm bath first thing in the morning. Do you light candles at all and listen to relaxing music, or do you just kinda sit in the tub and meditate in the silence?

E: For me, I will sometimes listen to a really good audiobook. Right now I’m listening to “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” by Rainn Wilson. I am very big into my epsom salts first thing in the morning. I love citrus because it tends to awaken my senses. 

S: What would you say is a typical meal that you like to eat for breakfast to get you ready for your day?

E: I used to be a sugary food person first thing in the morning, which is the exact opposite of what my system needs, but now it’s usually something in the realm of high protein, and high vegetables with low carbs. So some mornings it looks like having some yogurt, or rice cakes with peanut butter, or eating last night's dinner for breakfast.

S: When you get to work is there a routine you like to follow to get you started at your job?

E: More often than not when I get to work it is time to hit the ground running. No two days ever look the same for me, that's just kind of the nature of working in recreation. You never truly know what you’re going to be walking into for the day. Some days you’re attending to the emotional needs of someone who has had something come up, you might be going to work with individuals in a program, setting up for a program, networking, and just overall getting feedback from programs. As I mentioned, in our adult programs no two days are ever alike and I love that.

S: I love that for you. It sounds very fast-paced and takes a ton of mental energy to participate in effectively.

E: Yeah. It is, but it’s also kind of nice that you get to work face to face with the public, that there are those moments for connection. You get to ask people who come on a routine basis, “How are you doing these days?”, “What’s new in your life?” And being able to get that honesty back.

S: So tell me about the work that you do during the day.

E: I do a little bit of everything, I am a Jill Of All Trades, so sometimes that looks like me developing programs for a few weeks leading up to a particular event and then hosting them. I’ve done “Growing your own tea garden”, talking more about the basics of tea making, and I’ve done “Planting Programs” with people in the past. Other times it does look like, talking on the phone with individuals who are interested in presenting programs. Lately, we’ve been offering a lot of food-centric programs, it’s been all about healthy eating, and healthy habits. 

S: It sounds really fun and engaging and something that I would want to participate in. So who are you typically working with? What’s your primary audience?

E: I have two primary audiences as of now. I split my time between the Senior Center and the Recreation Division. Our Senior Center caters to individuals who are 55 and beyond, for the recreation side I do adult-level programming, that’s ages 18 and older. Helping to create meaningful and engaging programs for individuals, pretty much everything I do centers around holistic health and wellness.

S: Amazing, that makes a lot of sense. You were talking about your healthy eating in June. What was the actual initiative you were working on for that?

E: The initiative was called “Be Well Windsor”, it was created to maximize holistic health and wellness in our communities. In these areas since COVID, our community is looking to get back out there looking to engage with meaningful experiences, and I do a lot of programming under this umbrella, Sometimes it’s fitness and wellness, and other times it sounds like healing services to help with stress reduction. My favorites are the food-centric ones, the one coming up is called “Feeling Foody” for individuals ages 10 and over. We're hoping to get individuals connected to their food system but also in a fun way that is meaningful and engaging with professional chefs, engaging all levels with our community. 

S: What types of cuisines are you cooking?

E: We decided to jump full feet in, so we are doing farm-to-fork which is all about cooking fresh and local. We have Latin American cuisine, we are going to be covering the Caribbean with 20-minute jerk chicken and we are going to be embracing Peruvian for October. November and December are kind of special because we're going to be creating elevated meals but on a reduced budget. November is going to be focused on healthy holiday meals reimagined, like what do you do with your leftovers and all that turkey that you have. And then elevated holiday baking, so focusing on something delicious that you can bring to your family's house around the holiday time.

S: So what I’m hearing is, the work that you’re doing leaves a positive impact on people's mental health, but I would love to hear your opinion on it.

E: Well for a long time so much of my work has been based on the idea that connecting with nature, connecting with green spaces, and connecting with communities is profoundly therapeutic. About 6 years ago I had an existential crisis and I decided a lot of things in my life were not working, which led to a breakdown, that led to a breakthrough. Through my experiences I decided two things, I know I want to feed hungry people and I know that I want to work with animals. So I decided to volunteer on a community farm, and I also started donating my time to a local hunger relief organization. Through those experiences I found my life had profoundly changed and I had become this person on a mission who connects individuals with the therapeutic elements of green spaces and recreational programs. 

S: I think the work you're doing is incredible and wonderful where your mind is for this initiative. So how do you like to take care of yourself while working?

E: Well there’s a couple of different ways, allowing myself the opportunity to slow down. Like dropping the to-do list and immersing myself in the program. I love DBT and CBT and I think everyone in the world could benefit from it because, at the end of the day, it’s mindfulness at its best. All that matters is what I’m doing with those people and the connections I’m making. It’s funny because I have a to-do list going from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, but I like that I’m aware enough to know that it’s creating this restriction inside of me. I don’t get to drop the to-do list all the time but occasionally. Just recently I got to watch my adult jazz class master 1/3rd of their new routine and they performed it for me, it’s like street jazz is like Hip-Hop, and here are these beginner people, and their executing these moves all together and there’s such a moment of pride on their faces and it gives me chills. Holy cow, I’m tuned into the good stuff at the moment, and it makes you want to do more. Oh yeah and making sure I’m hydrated throughout the day cause I’m just a little houseplant with more complicated emotions. 

S: So true, I love that analogy. My final question for you is what advice do you have to give to someone who wants to work in the field you’re in?

E: My advice is we need more of us out there in the world. I say embrace it because it’s not easy work. I made the mistake a few years ago thinking I was the only one doing it, I felt like I had to be everywhere, doing everything. You are one person, and it takes a collaborative atmosphere to make all of this work together. It is probably one of the most difficult jobs you’ll do because working in human services/working with the public can be grueling, and taxing, but it is hands down one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll have because you’re making a positive impact in the world of others.